Rice is a staple of the diet in India but until recently the rice husks that were left behind in the milling process served no purpose – aside from generating a lot of waste. OPIC’s $750,000 loan in 2009 to the startup Husk Power Systems Inc. helped that business introduce a technology that converted this biomass waste into electricity and bring power to remote villages.

PBC recently featured Husk Power and showed how this new reliable, affordable and clean-burning source of fuel has transformed the lives of many Indian villagers.